A Father's Legacy
by Elaine Weasley
Summary: In which Arthur is more observant, Merlin gets the comfort he deserves, and he finally trusts Arthur with a secret. AU of Balinor's death. Oneshot for now, may become more later.


A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first oneshot, and my first story on my own account! For those of you who have been reading my fic My Enemy, My Brother, you will know what I mean.

I am a new Merlin fan. My siblings and I discovered the series on Netflix a few weeks ago, and tho' we are still going through the series, I just had to write this after Balinor's death. I thought it was really sad, and wished that Arthur would have been a little more observant for once. For now, this will be a oneshot, but if I finish the series and am more familiar with things, I might go further, depending on how it is received. So, without further ado, here it is!

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Merlin. Otherwise, this would have happened.

* * *

Arthur was staring at Balinor in shock.

No. It wasn't possible. He couldn't have died! After all they had gone through to get him, the last Dragon Lord, Camelot's last hope, and he was dead. Killed.

"No!" he screamed in frustration. Now, there wasn't a way to stop the Great Dragon's attack. The people, his father, were depending on them, to bring Balinor back.  
But they couldn't.

Arthur's fists were clenched, his sword forgotten on the ground where he had flung it.

They had to leave. They had to go back to Camelot and help, do their best to stop the dragon. Even if it was suicide. He would do everything to keep his people alive, even if it meant dying himself.

"Merlin," he said, turning back to his manservant, who was still cradling Balinor's body on his lap. "Mer-"

Arthur stopped, his brow scrunching in confusion at what he saw.

Merlin was crying. He was crying his eyes out, with such a lost look of dispair on his face. And it was directed at the man he held in his arms.

Arthur didn't understand. They had only met the man two days ago. True, Merlin and Balinor had seemed to get along with each other much better after Balinor had agreed to come with them, but to have Merlin acting like this. Yes, it was a tragedy that he had died before he had reached Camelot. But Merlin wasn't acting like it was Camelot he was upset about.

"Merlin?" he tried again. He was beginning to be alarmed, for his servant was openly sobbing now, clutching at the man's jacket, as though he was afraid of letting him go. As though he didn't want to let go. Ever.

Arthur slowly crouched down beside Merlin, and layed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right? Look, I know he was our best chance against the dragon, but while there are still people in Camelot who can  
fight, we will not give up. We will save it."

But his words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Arthur slowly reached out, and made Merlin turn to look at him. He was again shocked by the look of utter dispair in the boy's blue eyes. The tears streaking down his face. No, something was terribly wrong here.

"Please, Merlin. Whatever it is, please tell me. I want to know what's wrong."

Finally, Merlin spoke.  
"I-I can't t-tell you," he stuttered out between sobs.

Arthur felt frustration well up in his chest, but he tried not to let it show as he asked, "Why not? Merlin, I think you know by now, that I'm more than just your master. I hope I'm your friend. And whatever it is, you can tell me."

Again, Merlin shook his head. The younger boy finally let go of Balinor's jacket, and used the back of his hand to wipe the tears off his face. It didn't do much. His eyes were red and puffy, and the moisture was still very present.

Merlin made to get up, but Arthur stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Merlin, I will not take no for an answer. Whatever it is, you are very upset about it, and if it is a matter of trust, and for some reason you feel you can't tell me because of that, let me set you straight. I care about you. And you can tell me. I will keep it in full confidence, whatever it is, because I want to help! Please, Merlin!"

Merlin looked at him, the wariness in his eyes apparent, but then his face fell, and more tears streamed down his face. He took a deep breath, and mumbled something that Arthur couldn't hear.

"What, Merlin?" He asked, leaning closer, his hands still on the boy's shoulders.

"He, he w-was m-my father."

Arthur stared at Merlin, dumbfounded.

"Your what? But, I thought you didn't know who he was. Your mother never told you!"

Merlin looked back at Arthur with resignation. "She didn't tell me. Gaius told me, right before we left Camelot. I only told Balinor when he decided to come with us."

Arthur suddenly felt sorrow for his manservant, no, friend, as Merlin bowed his head and let out another sob. Putting aside all master/servant relationship, Arthur pulled Merlin to him for a hug. He had surprised himself greatly, and from the way Merlin stiffened in his arms, he was surprised as well. But that went away in a moment and Merlin was hugging Arthur back, his thin hands now clutching Arthur's jacket, as a new wave of sobs shaking his thin frame. Arthur had never comforted someone before, so it was with no small amount of akwardness that he rubbed the younger boy's back, doing what he could to make him feel better.

This was Merlin, for goodness sake! His bumbling, idiotic, clumsy, cheerful servant, who called him "prat" on a daily basis. It was so wrong, to see him break down like this. But now Arthur understood. For Merlin to find and lose his father in the space of only two days...

Merlin's sobs finally subsided, and they sat in for a few minutes, until Arthur finally broke the silence.

"We need to go back. We have to do our best to fight the dragon on our own."

"Oh, well, about that..." Merlin trailed off, looking off to the side.

"What?" Arthur asked. Merlin had gone from looking despairing to looking sad and a rather uncomfortable and nervous in the blink of an eye.

"Well, you said I could trust you. A-and I want to know-if I tell you something, will you keep it a secret, even from your father?"

Merlin had said it in a rush, but he was looking into Arthur's eyes with such a piercing gaze, Arthur couldn't look away. But a secret? From his father? Well, he supposed that he didn't tell his father everyting. And he trusted Merlin. And in return, Merlin wanted to trust him.

Wasn't that what friends did?

"I'll keep your secret Merlin. I swear."

He noticed how Merlin's eyes widened, and he was a little hurt that he didn't seem to expect that answer. But Arthur was pleased with the small, if sad, smile that graced his face.

"Well, um, before, he, uh," Merlin closed his eyes, and a shudder ran through his lanky form as he took a deep breath,"died, he told me, that uh, that the uh, Dragon Lord's gift, is un, passedontothesonwhenthefatherdies?"

Arthur wasn't sure if he heard right. "Come again?"

Merlin sighed, and looked Arthur in the eye. "I am now the last Dragon Lord."

Arthur was once again gaping openly at Merlin. At first, he just felt disbelief, and then awe, and then relief and hope.

"You mean, you can get rid of the dragon?" He didn't care how excited he was. Just a while ago, he had believed Camelot to be doomed, but now, his clumsy manservant, his lanky friend, had just informed him that he could save them!

"Uh, yeah, I suppose so," Merlin said. " I haven't done it before, but if what Balinor said was true, which I believe what he said, then I should be able to get rid of the dragon."

This time, Arthur hugged Merlin out of sheer joy. "I knew you could be more useful!" He missed the rolled eyes and knowing look on the boy's face, as Merlin was busy hugging Arthur back again.

"But," Arthur pulled back, his brow once more furrowing in confusion, "why don't you want my father to know?"

Merlin snorted. "I rather like living in Camelot, and believe it or not, I enjoy being your servant." Merlin ignored the smirk that was plastered on Arthur's face at that. "If your father knew about it, then I would at the worst be burned at the stake, or beheaded. Otherwise, I'd have to leave Camelot for good."

"But my father would have welcomed Balinor to Camelot. If you rid us of the dragon, then he wouldn's surely kill you, or banish you."

Arthur was going to say more, when he noticed the look on Merlin's face.

"Do you truly believe that? I'm sorry, Arthur, but from what I've seen, I would rather not chance it. If I can get rid of the dragon, I'd rather do it discreetly, and let someone else take the credit. Please, you said I could trust you."

Arthur studied his servant closedly. He had said that. And if he had to be honest with himself, he knew his father could very well banish or worse, imprison or kill Merlin. At that thought, Arthur felt physically sick. Merlin dead was not a thing he could ever imagine.

"Alright, Merlin. You have my word. I won't tell my father. Anyone, actually, unless you want me to."

Arthur had to smile at the look of relief that passed over Merlin's face. "Thank you, you don't know how much that means to me."

Arthur stood, and helped Merlin up.

"Now, how about we go home, and for once, you can be the hero."

"What?" Merlin cried, "If you knew how many times I saved your royal arse..."

Arthur smirked. "Yes Merlin. You must have done it so many times. In your dreams."

And for the first time since the Great Dragon had gotten free, Merlin gave Arthur a full, genuine smile.

* * *

Ta Da! Please leave a reveiw, and let me know if you think I should continue some time in the future. If I do, it won't be for a while, because I am busy with the H.P. fic on BlueLil's account, and I am also getting prepped for college, which starts August 25th. But if you want, I can continue eventually!  
Thank you for reading!


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